Means for cleaning the submerged surfaces of vessels



June 12. 1928. 1,673,539

I K. A. A. wARFF MEANS FOR CLEANING THE SUBMERGED SURFACES OF VESSELS Filed May 9, 1927 INVENTOR. Kl?- fl. barf) ATTORNEYS.

Patented June 12, 1928.

KARL ADOLI ANDREAS WEE-FF; or KITKGIALV, SWEiJEfil MEANS FOR CLEANING THE SUBMERGED URFACES' OF VESSELS.

Application filed May 9, 1927, Serial No. 190,093, and in Sweden Nevembe'i" 17, 1925;

As is generally known a ship which has been to sea for some time must be docked or otherwise drawn out of the water to get the sides and bottom scraped or cleaned from adhering impurities assea plants, shells, rust or such like, Such dockings however, are rather expensive and a waste of time, and therefore different ways and difierent means are required to do' this'cleaning or at least to extend the intervals between. two unavoidable dockingsi y a The present invention has for its object to attain the desirable result by operating means which cleanithe submerged surfaces of the vessel continuously or at intervals during the voyage by the use of a suitable liquor spread, out upon the hull so as to prevent impurities fromadhering to the plating as well as to remove those impurities which have already become attached.

According to the invention a tanker container for the cleaning agent 'is disposed abovethe water line in the foremost part of the ship and provided with pipes drawn down to the ships sides below the water line where the pipes end with open mouths at different depths. Each pipe is provided with a closure adjusted, so that the free passageway of each pipe corresponds to the depth of said mouth below the tank as well as below the water level. By these means the quantities of cleaning agent, which escape from the various pipes exclusively due to the force caused by the natural difi'erence of pressure between the liquid columns,

will be practically the same for allthe pipes independent of the actual position of any arbitrary pipe outlet with respect to its depth below the container or the-water level.

The "invention will be described withireference to the special embodiment illustrated on the accompanying. drawing in which Figure 1 is an elevation view on asmall scale of a vesselprovi'ded with the improved cleaning device; t

Figure 2 is a crosssection on. a larger scale of the'tore part of the ship provided with the cleaning device;

Figure 3 is an axial section through a Figure 4 is the plug to the samecock partly in section on a plane perpendicular to the planecof Figure 3. Figures 3 and 4. are'on a further enlarged scale, p

In the foremostpartof the vesseliis dis posed tank. or container 1 at temper:

cock arranged so as to suit said demos, and

atively great height above, the linew of the vessel. From the, tank 1 ,a plurality of delivery pipes 2, 3 and 4; are drawn down to the outer shell of the vessel below the loadline, where the pipes end at difierent heights on the port side as well as on starboard side. Preferably each strake' of the plating has its ownpipe just asillustrated in Fig. 2. Each pipeisprovi'ded with a valve .or other adjustable closure 5 at or near the tank 1 and another closure 6 nearthe ships side. Theclosures 5, 6 can be ordinary seat valves, plug cocks or similar adjustable appliances, but it is preferred to use ordinary valves or cocks at the tank 1 only andto design the members 6 as illustrated in FiguresS and land clearly described herebelow. The members 5 have for their objYectjonly to open or close by usual means those of the variouspipes 2,1 3, 4' which for any reason shall be or shall not be brought into function i for the moment; for instance: the shutting oil of the highei situated outlets when the vessel is unloaded. The closures 6 however have for their purpose to adjust the quantity of fluid which escapes from each in'dividual pipe whereby it is of great importance that practically the same quantity of cleaningagent will be allowed to issuefrom all of the pip'es 2," 3, i independently of their individual depth below the water level. By such an arrangement exactly that quantity of cleaning agent which is necessary for a thorough cleaning result will flow over each spot of thewhole wetted surface of the vessel. Devices hitherto proposed; for similar purposes suffer from the considerable incon- .v enience, that the quantity escaping from .diiierent pip'es cannot be effectively controlled, with the result that a much larger quantity of cleaning agent escapes from the higher situated pipes than from thepi-pes disposed deeper down because the outlets of the former are exposed to a less counter pressure from the outer water column than the latter. Notwithstanding a higher positive pressure from the tank or container will act upon the deeper situatedflpipe outlets than upon the higher one, said positive pressure however, as arising from an oil or similar agent with a less specific gravity than that of water, causes the counter pressure from the water columnto, increase quicker than the positive pressure from? the cleaning age t, and thus an irregularity occurs in. the

Another inconvenience known in connection with devices for similar purposes is, that the cleaning agent is forced out not only on account of the static pressure caused by the difference in liquid columns but also by the help of mechanical means for increasing the pressure or the dynamic action caused by the ejector effect when the water streams outside the vessel in the front of obliquely cut outstanding ends of the ejection pipes.

According to the present invention the pipes 2, 3, 4 end in line with the outer surface of the plating of the vessel, so that no ejector can arise and increase the escaping'velocity of the cleaning agent above what is due only to the static pressure of the fluid.

The tank 1 is filled through a pipe 11 and communicates with the air through a pipe 12.

The members 6 must be arranged in such a way, that each of them is given a definite outlet opening which is adjusted in consideration of the position below the water line a. of each pipe 2, 3, 4. Naturally any arbitrary adjustable closures such as scat valves, plug cocks or such like can be used for this purpose. It is however on practical grounds preferable to design the members 6 in such a way, that they cannot unintentionally be given a large passage-way than necessary to let out the desired quantity of the cleaning agent A plug cock is the most suitable in this respect, if the passageway of the same is made not larger than corresponds to the maximum quantity of liquid which is allowed to escape through the cock in acetion when said cock is fully opened. uch a cock preferably consists of a common gas cock of standard type in which the usual passage-way 8 of the plug 7 is filled up with some comparably soft material 9 which is easy to compress and to pierce, preferably a. soft metal such as lead or the like. In this material a small bore 10 is made the diameter of which differs according to the position of the respective cock 6 below the water level in order to obtain the desired result with respect to the quantity of cleaning agent that it is required shall. escape through said cock. The filling up with a soft and easily treated material has the great advantage, that the bore 10 can easily be adjusted to suit the various couditions,that is, either be squeezed to a smaller size by easy blows with a hammer or be enlarged by a piercer which operation can be performed without difliculty by anybody with a suitable implement. The cocks 6 of course also may be used as ordinary sea cocks in case of a bursting of any of the pipes 2, 3, 4, or in other accidental circumstances to prevent the sea water from entering the vessel.

In order to facilitate such an emergency closing of the cocks 6 the keys 13 of the cocks may be coupled to a drag rod 14 by means of links or bolts 15 and said drag rod extended above the deck where it is provided with a handle 16 so that the cocks 6 can be closed by a pull in said drag rod. It is to be preferred that the keys 13 of all cocks 6 on each side of the ship are coupled to a common drag rod 14, so that they can all be closed by the same movement, but of course it is not necessary to do that, but either each cock per se or a larger or less number of cocks can be manipulated through aspecial drag rod.

Though I prefer to limit the posit-ion of the outlets of the pipes 2, 3, 4 to the foremost portion of the ship there is no objection to distribute them over a wider space as for instance some outlets can be disposed farther remote from the bow, especially in ships of extensive length. Also the numberof outlets on each side of the ships may vary with the size of the ship without interfering with the scope of the invention.

During the voyage the cocks 5 and 6 are held open during so long a time and so often, as is required for the cleaning of the wet surfaces, whereby the same quantity of cleaning agent will escape from each pipe 2, 3, 4 notwithstanding its distance from the bow or below the water level a on account of the preliminarily adjusted passage-way of each closing member 6. The sea water which passes by the outlets of the pipes 2, 3, 4 on account of the speed of the vessel forces the cleaning agent backwards thereby covering the whole wet sides and bottom of the vessel preventing the fastening of new impurities thereupon as well as removing such impurities which may have become adhered.

I do not wish to limit myself to the embodiment described and shown, as the constructive details of the invention can be varied in many respects without departing from its scope.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is 1. In a ship a tank for a cleaning liquid, disposed above the water level at the aforemost portion of said ship, pipes going down from said tank and ending in level with the exterior surface of said ships sides at different depths below the water line, a plug cock in each of said pipes to control the outflow therefrom, said cocks of ordinary types and sizes corresponding to said pipes, the ordinary passage-way of said cocks filled up with some comparably soft material, and a small bore through said soft material procuring a passage-way of a smaller size than theordinary passage-way of the same cock, said size of the boring capable of being decreased or increased at will by hammering down or reaming up said soft material.

2. In a' ship a tank for a cleaning liquid, disposed above the water level, pipes communicating the interior of said tank with the exterior surface of the ships sides below the water level at different depths below said water level, a closure near the ships side for.

each pipe and means to shut when desirable a plurality of said closures by a common operation.

3. In a ship a tank for a cleaning liquid, disposed above the water level at the foremost portion of said ship, pipes going down from said tank and ending in level with the exterior surface of said ships sides at different depths below the water line, and a closure in each pipe having an adjustable orifice adapted to control the outlet of the pipe, and mean for shutting said closures when desired.

In testimony whereof I have aifixed my signature.

KARL ADOLF ANDREAS WARFF. 

